Oh... Venice. I'm pretty sure I left my heart here. This is the most beautiful, awe-inspiring city in the world. And probably my favorite city in the world. As soon as we left the train station and stepped out in the cloudy Venetian air, I felt like I had come home. This city absolutely spoke to me and my heart.
We went to Venice as a group. It wasn't just me and Molly and Michelle. We had a huge group of girls, including our teachers, Lynn and Jennifer (and their husbands, the only boys), our guide, Daniella, and about 15 of us students (yes all girls). I wouldn't have wanted my first time in Venice to be any other way. Along with it's beauty comes confusion, logistically speaking. The streets can be very confusing because there are so many turns and alleys and narrow streets. There is not one car in Venice, and it's all walking streets or you can take water buses. When we arrived in Venice there was a water bus strike going on, so we had to walk. Thank heavens we had Daniella (a native Italian), or we would have been completely lost. Even though it was a very long walk, I am glad that we got to see some more of the city. We finally arrived at our hotel (Serinissima Hotel), which was absolutely adorable and Italian in every way, very small and quaint. They even had an adorable dog there named "Sleepy." He was so cute, and I think he was a golden retriever.
After settling in, we took a tour of the "Palazzo Ducalo", or the "Doge's Palace." The Doge of Venice was historically the ruler of Venice. This is the place where all the political stuff of Venice went down. This is one of the coolest buildings ever. So much history and art is housed in this palace. After the Doge's Palace we toured St. Mark's Basilica. This is an extremely ornate and beautiful church, but it is not the kind of style that I prefer. It's very gaudy and felt very stuffy. There were lots of golds and blacks. Gorgeous, yes, but not where I would want to go to church.
On our free time, we took a ton of pictures (of course) to capture the beauty of Venice. We also found this delicious pastry shop where we got caffe lattes (my favorite) and scrumptious cakes. I got a strawberry shortcake-ish type of cake. It was absolutely delicious. For dinner, we dined right by the "Ponte di Rialto." I had some of the most delicious pizza I have ever had here, accompanied by a glass of yummy Italian Prosecco. And of course we did some more exploring.
The next day, after a delicious complimentary breakfast, we went on a walking tour of Venice. We saw so many beautiful things and places I would probably have never seen on my own. We went inside a church that I cannot recall the name of, but it was one of my favorite churches in Italy. The reason I liked it so much is because it was so open and airy. It was not stuffy at all. It may not have been as ornate as St. Mark's but it was still beautiful. It had some very unique sculptures and artwork.
After our walking tour I had my first officially Kebab. Now, it's probably not what you think. A kebab is a delicious Middle Eastern wrap, filled with pork, vegetables, and sauce. It is delicious. I had many more of these after this first encounter.
Then as a group we visited the island of Murano. This is the glass blowing island. We were able to see glass blowing performed. It is an amazing art, and the glass is beautiful. I probably spent way too much money here, but it was worth. Then we went onto the island of Burano. There is not much to do here, but it is absolutely beautiful. The houses are all different bright colors, and it is just such a cute Italian island.
Back on Venice, we had another fun night of exploring and adventure. We had a craving for "American" food so we went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. Then we went to an Irish pub and I had my first full Guinness. Not my beer of choice, but I had to at least have one... Come on, I was at an Irish Pub!
The next morning, with the rest of our free time we took a way to expensive gondola ride. It's 80 euro during the day! And 100 euro at night! Extremely overpriced, but worth every penny. You get to see so many cool things that you would probably never see on foot. Our gondolier's name was Simone, and he was, as the Italians say, "Che bello!" A very worthwhile experience. My next tourist experience was the feeding of the pigeons in St. Mark's Square. Those pigeons are crazy and they are not afraid to fly at you and land on you. It was definitely an experience I will never forget.
And this brings me to the end of my first Venice adventure. I fell in love with it immediately and never stopped loving it. Every moment in Venice, I cherished and will remember for the rest of my life. I will definitely be going back as soon as possible.
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